“A splendid battle.”
Ainz praised Cocytus who knelt before him.
“Thank you.”
“That might be so, but I believe you understand clearly that we are showing them the whip now, but you need to show them the candy from now on. Do not start a reign of terror.”
“I understand.”
Ainz nodded and looked at the other Guardians in the room.
“Very well. Guardians, listen well. I already said in the throne room that the lizardmen village will be ruled by Cocytus. If there is anything Cocytus needs, do lend him your support. Cocytus, I hope you can engrave loyalty towards Nazarick deep into the hearts of the lizardmen… And to provide them with an elite education… I leave all these to you… Let me know if you need special items like ‘Heaven Feather’. I will also loan some ‘Power Suits’ to you in the meantime.”
In the game YGGDRASIL, it was possible to change race mid way, but it didn’t mean you could switch as you wish. You needed to fulfil several conditions and the change would be irreversible.
One of the conditions was a specific item. For example, you would need the ‘Book of the Dead’ to be a lich. To turn into an imp required ‘Fallen Seeds’. And the ‘Heaven’s Feather’ that Ainz mentioned was a required item to become an angel.
Changing one’s race might be possible in this world, that’s why Ainz couldn’t help sharing his ideas.
“I will seek your advice when the time comes, Ainz-sama. May I ask how you plan to deal with those lizardmen?”
“Which lizardman?”
“Yes, the two lizardmen named Zaryusu and Shasuryu.”
The two who fought til the very end. Their corpses should still be in the wetlands. But what of it?
“I see. Collect their corpses, I will use their bodies as material when I create undead with my special ability.”
“— That would be a pity.”
“Hmmm, what do you mean? Do they have such value?”
When Ainz watched the battle through the Mirror of Remote Viewing, he saw that Cocytus was absolutely dominating, there wasn’t anything else of note.
“... They were weak, but I could see their warrior spirit and fearless resolve in the face of the strong. It is a pity to use them as materials. I think they could become even stronger, maybe unbelievably so. Ainz-sama shouldn’t have done experiments related to resurrecting the dead yet, how about testing it out on them?”
… Does he like those lizardmen?
To be frank, Ainz didn’t know what to feel when he heard the term warrior spirit. He came across the term killing intent in novels and mangas, but didn’t think much of it. It was just like the time when Ainz had warned Narberal about these things, and she had said “Ah, yes, I see, oh~”, that kind of feeling. Similarly, the resonance among warriors was something Ainz didn’t understand.
This was because Ainz might look like this now, but he was originally just a normal salaryman. If a normal citizen born in Japan understood warrior spirit, that would be dangerous. If it was the spirit of an excellent salaryman, he might comprehend a little.
“I see… it is a waste indeed.”
But what Ainz was actually thinking baffledly was: Even if you say it is a pity, I don’t understand.
But thinking it through calmly, Cocytus had a point.
He was thinking about performing resurrection experiments somewhere, and Ainz felt using them to experiment had many benefits. And compared to the blattering Cocytus in the throne room, he now could provide clear and concise proposals. If this was a sign of improvement, Cocytus had passed with flying colours.
After thinking about it shortly, Ainz remembered he had excellent subordinates.
He recalled the subordinates standing around him silently in a manner befitting a servant.
“Albedo, tell me your opinions.”
“My thoughts are the same as Ainz-sama.”
“...Demiurge, what do you think?”
“I think Ainz-sama is the most correct.”
“... ...Shalltear, and you?”
“I think the same as Demiurge and await Ainz-sama’s judgement.”
“... ... ...Aura”
“Yes, I think the same way as everyone too.”
“... ... ... ...Mare.”
“Erm, erm erm, yes, I think the same too.”
Their answer was as good as not answering at all, giving Ainz a headache.
After thinking it through, Ainz came to a conclusion— Maybe from the standpoint of a Guardian, they didn’t think there was any major issue. Which also meant there wouldn't be major impact no matter what decision he made.
That was also dependent on the circumstances of the Guardian. There might be problems if their situation changes.
Simply put, when a small group of people say a hundred million is a small amount of money, there will be the problem of how trustworthy that statement was. This was the difference in the perception of values.
A waste of breath… well, I could think of it as being fine in resurrecting them right? I was planning to deliberate over it more, I have made too many mistakes recently.
With no other choice, Ainz had to weigh the pros and cons from his own standpoint.
“...We had decided to rule over the lizardmen, but do they have a suitable representative? Or a group that could represent them?”
“No, but they do have a suitable representative.”
“Oh? Who is it?”
“The white lizardman that didn’t took part in the battle earlier. She seemed to possess the power of druids.”
“Oh, that one! Hmm, that could work…”
If it was her, she could be of use— Ainz thought. He could use her to spy on things.
However, implementing the idea Ainz had in mind might make Cocytus who will be ruling the lizardmen feel troubled. So what should he do? Ainz suddenly had a moment of brilliance.
…Wouldn’t it be faster to just ask? Although I didn’t get any useful answers just now...
Ainz shared his plans with Cocytus, and Cocytus expressed his acknowledgement.
It was hard to judge whether Cocytus said that to accommodate his master, but Demiurge and Albedo didn’t have strange reactions either when he glance at them. This made Ainz relaxed and assured him that it shouldn’t be a problem.
“Very good. How long will you need to bring her here?”
“Pardon my impudence, I thought Ainz-sama will ask for her, so I ordered her to wait in a room nearby.”
Ainz couldn’t help looking at Demiurge and saw him shaking his head.
Awesome, he handled it well, without any instructions and it didn’t seem to be someone else’s idea.
This must be how a superior feels when he sees his subordinate mature as he had hoped for, Ainz thought with a face of satisfaction. But his head was a skull so it didn’t really moved.
“No no, well done Cocytus. Wasting time is foolish, your judgement is on point. Alright then, bring her over.”
“Erm, please wait!”
“What is it, Aura?”
“I don’t think a shabby place like this is good enough. Even though we are hosting people who are submitting to us, it is too run down for Ainz-sama’s status. I feel that the meeting should be done in the throne room of Nazarick.”
All the other Guardians except Mare nodded gently in agreement.
“...My apologies. I miss out on this point, please forgive me!”
“Ahhh…”
Ainz never thought about that. He then thought about how to react. Suddenly, he remembered something. In that case—
“— Aura.”
“Yes!”
“I told you that this place you built— the place filled with your feelings and emotions, is as good as Nazarick right? I really mean it. Cocytus, bring her in. I will hold the audience here.”
“Ai-, Ainz-sama!”
“Aura, back down.”
“Albedo!”
Aura protested with her face red, saying “Why are you stopping me?” However, Albedo merely glance at Aura before ignoring her fixing her sight at the door. The one answering the emotional Aura was Demiurge.
“...Anything Ainz-sama says is the law. Since Ainz-sama said this place is as good as Nazarick— “
“—It must be true.”
Shalltear continued.
I don’t think my words are ironclad laws. Although I don’t want to be thought of like that… but just this one time, it is a big help.
“Aura, I will say this again. As my most trusted subordinates— one of the Guardians, this place you put in so much effort to build is on the same level as Nazarick. It is true even now when construction works are ongoing… Do you understand?”
“...Ainz-sama, thank you very much.”
Aura deeply lowered her head and the other Guardians did the same.
There is no need… to be so emotional… This is embarrassing.
“Well then, usher her in, Cocytus.”
“Yes!”
In a short moment, Cocytus brought a pure white lizardman into the room.
The lizardman knelt before Ainz and lowered her face to the ground.
“State your name.”
“Yes, Supreme Overlord of Death— Ainz Ooal Gown. I am the representative of the lizardmen, Crusch Lulu.”
What an incredible title. He was curious as to who came up with this title, but Ainz acted like a calm king and said.
“... Hmmm, well met.”
“Yes. Gown-sama, please accept the oath of fealty from us, the lizardmen.”
“Hmmm…”
Ainz watched Crusch closely.
The scales were pretty. They shone brightly under the illumination of the magical light. I wonder how they would feel like if I were to touch them., Ainz was academically curious.
As he stared closely, he realized Crusch’s shoulders were trembling. Cocytus should have deactivated his freeze aura ability, so it must be due to some other reason.
Ainz pondered shortly and found the answer, it was obvious.
If she made Ainz unhappy, all the lizardmen would be massacred. That was why she was so careful in her speech. For Crusch who was under such crushing pressure, Ainz unnatural silence planted a seed of terror.
Ainz didn’t have the hobby of taking pleasure in bullying the weak. If it was for the good of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, he was willing to do anything no matter how cruel it was, but he won’t perform such destructive actions needlessly.
“The lizardmen will be under my rule. However, C